10 Questions with ZULFA

ZULFA (b. 1991, Singapore) is an artist whose works investigates and questions the complexities of inextricably intertwined relationships of religion, culture, and politics and their influences on social structures. As an individual who stands at the crossroads of multiple minority groups, he aims to use his art to amplify their voices and concerns and create contemporary discourse. His art primarily employs non-traditional fine art methodologies and media such as collages, ephemeral installations, vernacular photography, and community engagement.

He has participated in exhibitions both in Singapore and internationally, such as Curves ‘n’ Forms by Haze Gallery (GERMANY), SENI KITA by Kamal Arts Gallery (SINGAPORE), The Hours After: Pirate Transmissions as part of Singapore Art Week 2021, and Shanghai International Paper Art Biennale 2021 (CHINA).

He is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Arts B(A) in Fine Arts at LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore.

www.zulfa-arts.com | @_pokyo_

ARTIST STATEMENT

ZULFA’s research is strongly based on how art can be used as a point of departure for contemporary social, political and cultural discourse - often oscillating between collaging and ephemeral installation. He is interested in how the art of collaging can be a catharsis, a form of visual expression, be it in an individual or community setting. ZULFA is also highly invested in investigating the relationship between everyday objects and their relevant political context/affiliation. 

In his collage practice, He always employs the strong usage of juxtaposition, often playing with forms, colours, or subject matter (informed by political context). This is evident in his collage series ‘The Soul Reaches the Pantheon of the Gods of the Highest Order’ and ‘Abstraction Studies on themes of Devotion and Martyrdom’. 

INTERVIEW

First, could you introduce yourself to our readers and tell us about your artistic background. What inspired you to pursue a career in visual arts? And how did you get interested in it in the first place?  

My name is Zulfa, and I'm based in Singapore. I have liked sketching since I was young. I often drew random flowers, insects, or landscapes. However, as I did not come from a privileged upper-class background, my access to the arts was limited during my childhood. I got really serious about art when I was in my late teens when I ventured into analogue photography. The idea of pursuing a formal education in visual arts for tertiary education wasn't an ideal option for me as my parents wanted me to pursue something more practical. They weren't supportive of me wanting to study the arts. I ended up studying engineering while it wasn't what I had wanted. However, I did not resent it. In fact, right now, I feel like my technical knowledge is vital in helping me push the boundaries of arts in the age where boundaries of arts and technology are blurred. I am open to the cross-pollination of engineering and arts.

A full-time career in visual arts wasn't what I had in mind or had been wanting to pursue, but I have always loved doing arts, and I thought maybe I could still pursue arts alongside my day job (I am a full-time fitness professional). I think the pivotal moment that got me interested in being an artist was when one of my digital artwork was chosen as part of an open call exhibition back in 2012. From there, I have been exhibiting in group shows since 2012, but I only started focusing on building my art career in late 2020. I had stopped doing art between 2013 and 2020 as I kind of lost passion for it. During that hiatus, I was preoccupied with building my sports and fitness industry career.

Life took a turn, and in 2020, my passion for the arts was re-ignited. Since then, I have been exhibiting my works in Singapore, Germany, UK, and China.

And what is your favorite experience as an artist so far?

Definitely meeting lots of new people and forging new connections and friendships; sharing ideas and knowledge. Part of being an artist requires us to network a lot, and I enjoy meeting new people from all walks of life.

What advice would have been helpful for you before starting this career path?  

Lots actually. For one, learning to deal with rejections is part of the game. I was often hard on myself when I got rejected for open calls but facing rejection, reflecting, and moving on from it allows us to grow. 

Second and most importantly, having a non-arts-related career does not diminish your status as an artist. As long as you're making art, you're an artist.

In your statement, you say that your "research is strongly based on how art can be used as a point of departure for contemporary social, political and cultural discourse." How do you achieve this, and is the purpose behind this research?

In general, this research stems from my interest in how the function of art continues to evolve outside white cube spaces and how art can become a catalyst for social and political advocacy. I feel that the role of contemporary artists is expanded upon more than just having their works exhibited but also how artists can lend their privilege to serve and help strengthen their target community. 

Currently, I'm researching the potential of community art. Community art is relatively new and still in its experimental stage. In community art, the artist themselves plays a multi-faceted role in enabling a platform whereby community members get to represent and create their own direct experiences and aspirations as well as community-bridging. Within the process of art-making itself, dialogs and debate will often arise between community members. The sharing of lived experiences and aspirations could result in engaging challenging conversations and forming collective voices that could lead to advocacy, action, and change. This is ideally what I hope community art could lead to.

Your collages mix different references and sources. What does your inspiration come from?

Given my experiences as an individual living in crossroads of being a minority ethnicity, LGBTQ+, and Muslim in a conservative country, it is rather not surprising that my works often orientate towards the political. This, I feel, is quite evident in my earlier works when I adopted the practice of collaging back in 2020. I was heavily influenced by the works of John Heartfield, Hannah Höch, and Linder Sterling. Here, I realised the potential of collages as a form of political expression. I like to see collage as a form of upending the reality we are experiencing. Some of the themes in my work are informed by current affairs, while some are commentaries of socio-political issues.

I am also seeing myself slowly steering towards abstraction and more ambiguity in terms of themes and references. Politics aside, my works are also deeply influenced by my interest in world religion and philosophy. My current ongoing series 'The Soul Reaches the Pantheon of the Gods of the Highest Order' is inspired by the Hinduism concept of moksha or liberation. 

What messages would you like to convey with your work? In other words, what would you like the public to experience when confronting your artworks?

When confronting my artworks, part of the visual experience involves the audience making their own interpretations. As much as I try to highlight certain socio-political issues that reflect our times when doing my works, I try not to be too specific with the message to allow some ambiguity and more open interpretations. It is interesting to get a varied interpretation of my works from the audience based on their life experience and worldview.

Can you tell us about your process? What aspect of your work do you pay particular attention to?

My process of creating collages can be either spontaneous or meticulously planned. However, I have developed a systematic approach to creating recently. I usually start off by just collecting images that I like. These images don't have to be aligned with what I wanted to do. From there, I'll categorize these images into which projects I am working on. I'll start by doing a bit of visual warm-up - Just doing random collage with scrap materials to get into the groove, and from there, I start working on my projects.

I try to focus on Juxtapositions - particularly how each collage elements harmonise as a single form or how each subject matter opposes each other in an ironic or sometimes humorous manner. I use magazines like National Geographic a lot. Such magazines have lots of pictures ranging from natural landscapes, animals, human and political, etc. Every picture has interesting details or elements, and through these, I try to isolate an interesting element and play around with juxtaposition. 

For abstract works like Abstractions Studies on Themes of Devotion and Martyrdom, I focus a lot on exploring forms, colours, and textures. For political works, it's all about the subject matter and how the act of juxtaposition can upend ideas of representations. Each collage will undergo various revisions in terms of juxtapositions or compositions before I commit to finalising them - that's the beauty of collaging. 

What are your thoughts on digital presentations, like fairs and exhibitions, for artists? Do you think these are good opportunities?

Absolutely a good opportunity for artists wishing to get their works seen to an international audience without crossing borders, especially in the current situation. Physical galleries/art spaces can also be inaccessible or have a limited lifespan. I have seen many independent brick-and-mortar art spaces closed down due to high rentals or when it is no longer commercially viable. Thus having digital spaces helps alleviate such issues. Digital exhibitions also help artists offset additional costs like travelling, shipping, and installation. Thus, I feel the flexibility of digital exhibitions is quite advantageous for emerging artists.

I do, however, have reservations about digital presentations, especially when it comes to site-specific installations/Sound art/ or anything that requires participatory elements. There are simply some things you have to experience physically and cannot be replicated online. 

What are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future? Anything exciting you can tell us about?

I'm currently heavily invested in community arts, participatory arts, and public art. I am currently doing my B(A) in Fine Arts and using my time in school to widen my artistic practice. I plan to crank out more installation works as I am really interested in pushing the boundaries of public spaces as well as audience involvement as part of the art-making process. I am currently working on the politics of spaces, especially from a country where political expressions/protest (without a permit) is illegal. This idea stems from the lack of protest of space we have in Singapore. Though not focussed on any specific body of work right now, I am testing out prototypes/ideas in the form of smaller works. I just love the process of experimenting with my ideas.

I plan to showcase my works more in South-East Asia as well as the Middle-East Regions, although I am not actively responding to open calls right now. Juggling between school, a full-time job, and my own studio practice is really a chore, and sometimes, it exerts a physical and mental toll on me, and I have made a promise to be lenient on myself. I don't wish to get burnt out.

Finally, share something you would like the world to know about you?

I am an avid long-distance runner. To date, I have run two full marathons and 28 half-marathons.